Natural panfish/sunfish swimbaits like the Berkley Powerbait Gilly have really taken the bass fishing world by storm. During Mike Iaconelli's year off of top-level professional tournament bass fishing in 2021, he spent a lot of time tinkering with this bait. From that, Mike has determined what he considers the top 3 ways to rig a sunfish swimbait. A common question Mike gets is "Will the bait swim sideways if I Texas rig it?". The secret to the bait swimming anotomically correct is not in the rigging, but in the bait design, that means that you can rig this bait a dozen ways or more and it will still be in the right position and have the right action. Because of how bass eat bluegill, Mike talks about how to fish this bait to get a reaction from bass and when you should set the hook. If you're missing bass on a Gilly, it's very likely you're missing this key piece of information. Are you looking for a bait that will aggrevate bass on a bed? Look no further, Mike also shares some tips & rigging options for getting bites from spawning bass. If you're ready to learn how to fish the hottest bait of the year from Bassmaster Elite Series angler Mike Iaconelli, check out this 56-minute bass fishing class seminar video.

0:21 Soft plastic swimbaits that look like sunfish
1:36 Match the hatch - what lake doesn't have bluegill?
5:16 Why fish a sunfish swimbait?
5:53 The Berkley Powerbait Gilly (and other brands)
10:13 Texas rigging a sunfish soft plastic swimbait (does it swim sideways?)
13:02 Line-through treble hook rigging a gilly swimbait
18:47 Ike's favorite way to rig a sunfish swimbait - how it's different from Texas rigging
23:42 Weighting a sunfish swimbait
25:47 How to fish a sunfish swimbait like the Gilly
31:02 Why sunfish swimbaits are great for bed fishing
31:46 Sunfish swimbait hooksets
35:56 Tackle for fishing Berkley Gilly swimbait sizes
38:14 Water clarity for fishing Gilly swimbaits
39:14 How to make your soft swimbait last longer
40:58 Rigging for fishing around cabbage
43:12 Skipping & flipping a Gilly around docks
46:11 Top ways to rig Gilly for bed fishing
52:25 Benefit of side rigging over Texas rigging
54:41 Final tip on rigging a Gilly

Buy tackle from this class from our partners at Tackle Warehouse
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15-20lb Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon Professional Grade - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Berkley_Trilene_100_Fluorocarbon_Line_Clear/descpage-FBTR.html?from=butv
7'4" MH Abu Garcia Ike Power Series Casting Rod - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Abu_Garcia_IKE_Power_Series_30_Casting_Rods/descpage-ABIIKPW.html?from=butv
8.0:1 Abu Garcia Revo Ike Low Profile Reel - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Abu_Garcia_IKE_Signature_30_Casting_Reel/descpage-IKECRL.html?from=butv
Berkley PowerBait Gilly Swimbait - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Berkley_Powerbait_Gilly_Swimbait/descpage-BPGI.html?from=butv
VMC 1X Round Bend Treble Hooks - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Inline_1X_Treble_Hook_10pk/descpage-VMCILT.html?from=butv
VMC Ringed Wide Gap Hook - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Ringed_Wide_Gap_Hook/descpage-VMCRWG.html?from=butv
VMC Tungsten Worm Weights - https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Tungsten_Worm_Weights/descpage-VMCTWW.html?from=butv